RaGe eSport League » s skating. I think youve got to be involved in the pla

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Brayan Pena only wanted to spark a rally. He wound up deciding the game. Penas second career pinch-homer started Cincinnatis big eighth-inning rally and swept the Reds over the Milwaukee Brewers 8-3 Thursday night. The Reds hit three homers in all as they pulled within 6 1/2 games of the NL Central leaders. Tucker Barnhart led off the fifth with his first career homer. Todd Frazier added a two-run drive in the sixth off Marco Estrada, who gave up six hits and four walks in six innings. Pena had homered during a 9-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night. He batted for Bailey with the score tied at 3 in the eighth and connected on the first pitch from Jim Henderson (2-1) for a two-run homer. "I was just thinking about driving the ball and hitting it hard somewhere," Pena said. "He got a pitch up and I was able to take advantage of it. I wasnt expecting a homer, but Ill take it." Cincinnati sent 11 batters to the plate while scoring five times during the inning against a bullpen that entered the series with the fourth-best ERA in the league. It had one very bad inning. "Theyre going to happen, no doubt," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "Weve been good down there. We just werent good tonight." Homer Bailey (2-2) allowed eight hits in a season-high eight innings, finally returning to form after missing much of spring training with a strained groin. "This game was good for all of us," Bailey said. "Were fixing to turn things around. Weve had a lot happen already this year. This one showed were starting to come together as a group." Milwaukee has lost back-to-back games for only the second time this season. The Brewers havent dropped more than two in a row. Cincinnati opened the four-game series with another injury. Leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton sprained knuckles on his left hand while making a diving catch in centre field and will miss a few games. Hamilton stretched all out to reach Carlos Gomezs line drive that opened the game. He grimaced and flexed his left hand and wrist as he got up. Chris Heisey hit for him in the bottom of the inning. Hamilton hurt the middle finger on his left hand while sliding into base during the opening week of the season and missed two games. "Unfortunately, its the same hand that he hurt in New York," manager Bryan Price said. "Were optimistic that hell only miss a day or two, but we wont know for a day or two." Gomez stole a hit from Joey Votto in the bottom of the first, catching his fly at the top of the wall in centre. Votto pointed two fingers toward Gomez, who also stole a potential go-ahead homer from him for the final out in Milwaukees 4-3 win last July 8. Jean Segura singled in a run in the second, and Gomez doubled home a pair of two-out runs to tie it 3-all in the seventh. Milwaukee got two players back in the lineup, but outfielder Ryan Braun missed his fifth game because of a strained oblique. Braun is expected back this weekend. Segura returned at shortstop after being out of the starting lineup for four games because of an injury to his face. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez was back after missing two games with a sore left elbow and went hitless, extending his slump to 0 for 25. Outfielder Logan Schafer is eligible to return from the disabled list on Saturday, recovered from a strained right hamstring. For now, Roenicke is using Mark Reynolds in right field, a position the infielder played during spring training. NOTES: RHP Wily Peralta (3-1) faces RHP Mike Leake (2-2) in the second game of the series. ... The Brewers called reliever Rob Wooten. Milwaukees bullpen has thrown the fifth-most innings in the majors. Utility player Elian Herrera was optioned to Triple-A. ... The Reds put LHP Tony Cingrani on the DL with a sore pitching shoulder. Reliever Curtis Partch was called up from Triple-A. ... Closer Aroldis Chapman made his first rehab appearance, throwing one inning and fanning two batters at Class A Dayton. Hes recovering from a line drive off the forehead on March 19. He could be activated by the end of next week. Malcolm Subban Golden Knights Jersey . But Paul Osbaldiston, Hamiltons assistant special teams and kicking coach, said the team still relished the championship game workout. Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys .While Rosberg is coming off a strong victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton is dwelling on a mistake that ended his streak of five consecutive wins and kept him from increasing his advantage. http://www.goldenknightssale.com/authentic-max-pacioretty-golden-knights-jersey/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cody Eakin Jersey . Never caused problems. Never raised a ruckus. Never got sick or hurt while frolicking in the fields of Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky. Tomas Nosek Golden Knights Jersey .ca. Hi Kerry, Welcome back! Im sure you heard Peter Forsbergs comments last week regarding Canadian referees in the gold medal game. Seems to me that he was questioning the integrity and impartiality.TORONTO – The workload is rising again. And like the near entirety of last season, Jonathan Bernier and Torontos goaltending tandem is up to the task. Bernier turned down 40 Anaheim shots Tuesday night as the Leafs rolled to their sixth straight victory and 10th in the last 12 games (10-1-1). Despite the stunning string of success over the past month, head coach Randy Carlyle wisely noted that his team has slipped recently. Theyve allowed an average of 37 shots in the past nine games, but have had the goaltending and mighty offence to hold strong. Leaf goalies have combined for a superb .939 save percentage since Nov. 29. Bernier has carried that bulk of that workload, mustering a .936 mark himself in his last seven starts, yielding two or less in five of them. Obviously the shot totals got to get down, said Nazem Kadri following a 6-2 win over the West-leading Ducks, but the way Bernies been playing, hes got those so I dont think were too worried about that. Bernier did most of his damage in the early going. He turned down 30 of the 31 shots he faced over the first two periods, including a pair on Ryan Getzlaf on a late first period Ducks power play. Later, after the Leafs pounced for their second goal, he made a fine save on Ryan Kesler. He made some big stops for us early in the hockey game, Carlyle said. It seemed like wed weather a little bit of a storm, wed get a chance and wed score so it made us feel good about ourselves. And he was the main reason that we put ourselves in a position to win the hockey game. Berniers counterpart, Frederik Andersen didnt fare quite as well. Making his 19th straight start in goal, Andersen was pulled after the fourth Toronto goal, one that saw Kadri outwait Ducks defender Mark Fistric, before firing the puck into the upper reaches of the Anaheim cage. The Leafs would add two more goals after that, burying Anaheim in the third. Theyve scored in crazy bunches during the past month, scorching with 49 goals during the 12-game run (or more than four per game). Thats kept the recent slippage in overall performance in the background, but has Carlyle rightfully concerned no less. Now I feel that we are slipping, he said of the teams recent play, which has included wins over powerhouses from Detroit, L.A. and now Anaheim. We have to get back to that more energetic, more stop-and-go, more straight-line hockey. Carlyle felt his team lacked energy and a forceful forecheck against the Ducks, who often bullied their way to long stretches in the Toronto zone. But we won, said Carlyle, in a triumphant mood. Bernier, meanwhile, has turned things around after a so-so start to the season. Tuesdays 40-save performance pushed him up to a .922 save percentage after 22 starts, good for ninth-best among regular NHL starters. His .932 mark at even-strength is also back at the superb level he managed in his debut as a Leaf last season. The worst shot suppression team in the league a year ago, the Leafs are fourth from the bottom so far this year, yielding nearly 34 per game. Five Points 1. Killer Instinct The Leafs are an astounding 14-0-0 when they score first this season, one of only two teams with an unbeaten record (Montreal being the other). Toronto is also a coinciding 13-0-0 when leading after two periods. Up 2-1 after 40 minutes on Tuesday, the Leafs scored a pair in the first five minutes of the third; that highlight marker from Kadri and the first of David Booths Toronto tenure. I think were getting much better when we have the lead, said Bernier. We keep playing hard. And I think last year maybe we would stop playing and they would come with a lot of speed. There were times last year when we went into games with the lead in the third period when we didnt have that killer instinct that we have today, addedJoffrey Lupul, scoring his seventh of the year early into the middle period. The Leafs were actually 27-9-4 last year when they scored first – good for only 19th best overall – and 26-1-2 when leading after two periods. 2. Top Line Torontos top line has been a constant source of production on the power play all year, but has sputtered at even-strength over the past month, spending long stretches in the defensive zone. í think it starts in the offensive zone, Carlyle said before Tuesdays game. I think that, at times, theyve been a one-and-out [offence]. Theyre a rush line that has to try to develop more of a puck-possession game in the offensive zone. I think thats more important than anything. Its 200 feet away from their net. Theyve got to find ways to maybe stop up and not take the bad angle shot and get two guys caught or three guys caught. I think that theyre quality players that will find a waay to do that, he concluded.dddddddddddd I just think right now theyre in a little bit of a dry spell. And indeed, the trio of Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak, and James van Riemdsyk had a much better night in that regard against the Ducks. The line came up with three of the six Toronto goals – including a pair at even-strength – sustaining more frequent stints in the offensive zone. Carlyle gave them lighter competition, however, matching the trio up against the Ducks youth-infused third unit of Andrew Cogliano, Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg. In my mind, they should have a good night if theyre playing up against the youth of Anaheim right now, said Carlyle. Kessel had two even-strength points in the victory, equaling the mark he had in the previous 11 games (minus empty-netters). The 27-year-old, who also led his team in possession against the Ducks, has six goals in the past eight games and leads the Leafs with 34 points in 31 games. 3. Studying Getzlaf Drafted by the Ducks in 2009, Peter Holland only suited up in 29 games with the club, but he got a brief, up-close look at Ryan Getzlaf. Hes continued to study Anaheims captain since then, even watching video of about five of his games so far this year. Just trying to take little bits and pieces from his game and try to incorporate it into my own, says Holland. His patience with the puck is top of the league, for sure. He just seems to know where the quiet areas of the ice are and he can hold onto the puck for a couple extra seconds before he makes a pass. The game slows down for him. Holland says Getzlafs presence on the ice is incredible and hes doing what he can to work some of the aforementioned tactics into his own game. Im trying to, yeah, said the 24-year-old. Its a lot easier said than done obviously, but just watching the way he handles the puck and distributes it is something special to be honest. Holland, who had an assist in the victory, split the matchup against Getzlafs line on Tuesday night – Kadris line being the other – spending the other half of the evening opposite the equally challenging unit fronted by Ryan Kesler. 4. Home Ice The Leafs now have a league-high 14 wins at home – while playing the most games – taking full advantage of a comfy early schedule. Theyll play 17 of their next 22 on the road though, a huge mountain to climb with the World Juniors coming to the ACC for the latter stages of December. Its going to be a different challenge, for sure, said Lupul. Its weird, at the start of the year it seemed we were more comfortable playing on the road than at home and now we obviously have a good thing going here. Toronto has a plus-17 goal differential at home versus a plus-4 mark in just 10 games on the road. 5. 100 Morgan Rielly crossed the 100-game plateau last week in Detroit, a feat celebrated by his teammates. Its obviously a pretty cool moment, he said later of the recognition. Riellys sophomore season hasnt been all ups though. Hes endured the predictable swings of a young defender in the league. But of late, the 20-year-old has been more actively involved in the play, finding something of a groove. I think so, he agreed. [But] I think its just a matter of trying to be consistent. Ive had times where I think Ive played well and Ive been happy with it and I think the coaches have been happy with it as well. But its about doing that every night. You cant do it in spurts, youve got to be consistent and thats what Ive got to work on. For Rielly, the key to that consistency is the asset that made him a top-5 pick: his skating. I think youve got to be involved in the play and youve got to try to make a difference, he said. You cant be a passenger. Youve got to help this team in each way you can, whether its carrying the puck, whether its playing defence, blocking point shots; youve just got to do what you can and try to help the team. Rielly played more than 21 minutes against the Ducks. He and partner, Stephane Robidas, struggled at times with the size and strength of their Western Conference opponents though. Stats Pack 17 – Even-strength points for Nazem Kadri this season, third-best on the Leafs. .936 – Save percentage for Jonathan Bernier in his past seven starts. 7-2-1 – Leafs record against the West this season. 49 – Goals in the past 12 games for the Leafs. 37 – Average shots allowed by the Leafs in the past nine games. 14-7-0 – Leafs home record. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-3 Season: 21% PK: 2-2 Season: 84% Quote of the Night Youve gotta like it. - Randy Carlyle, upon being informed that the Leafs were 14-0-0 when scoring first. Up Next The Leafs visit the Hurricanes on Thursday night. ' ' '